Visibility trend and analysis of citations of Boletín Epidemiológico (Lima) by biomedical journals (1991-2011)

There are not known bibliometric indicators of the information produced by the surveillance system in Peru. Aim: to determine the trend of downloads and the total number of citations of Boletín Epidemiológico (Lima) for biomedical journals (January 1991 - August 2011). Methods: visibility was evaluated by download statistics available at www.dge.gob.pe. Citations were searched electronically using the titles and acronyms of Boletín Epidemiológico (Lima) on Google Scholar. Additionally, we manually reviewed the reference section of 6 journals printed between 2000 and 2004, and 12 on-line journals, indexed and published between January 1991 and August 2011. Results: During the study period, Boletín Epidemiológico (Lima) was cited 89 times by 13 journals, 4 of which were international. Boletín Epidemiológico (Lima) was cited in 35 (39.3%) articles by Revista Peruana de Medicina Experimental y Salud Pública and in 20 (22.4%) articles by Revista Peruana de Epidemiología. The subjects most cited were malaria with 15 (16.8%) and dengue with 14 (15.7%) citations. The most cited sections of Boletín Epidemiológico (Lima) were epidemiological situation with 68 (76.4%) citations and editorial with 10 (11.2%) citations. During 2006, there were 23 178 downloads with an average of 469 weekly downloads and during 2007 21 441 downloads with 412 downloads per week on average. Conclusions: There is a low rate of downloads, but with a historical tendency to increase until 2009, suggesting the usefulness of the information published by Boletín Epidemiológico (Lima).
Authors: Cabrera, Rufino; Cruz, Angelita; Urbiola, Aníbal; Leiva, Rene; Bolarte, José; Canahuiri, Jerónimo; Arrasco, Juan;Vilchez, Aquiles; Suárez Ognio, Luis
Source: Revista Peruana de Epidemiología (Rev. peru. epidemiol)
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10757/556554